Mounted warm diamonds..

[reader]

Do you have a warmer colored diamond? If so, what did you do about mounting with side stones...are the color differences very noticeable, or did you find stones in the same color range? Got pics you care to share?

Thanks!

 

[Lorelei]

I know there was a recent post where someone was going to set a much warmer colour with white sides, but I cannot for the life of me remember who it was....

What are we talking about when you say warmer colour? I or J? K or L? M, N etc? It can really depend on colour perception of the individual, shapes and sizes of the centre and side stones etc and who graded the centre stone. If you can post what you are thinking of as an example that would help. With colourless or near colourless, some want the same colour as the centre, depending how high up the scale you can shoot for 2 grades lower in some instances, but it really depends.

 

[KristyDarling]

I don't know if you'd consider a center stone with H color to be "warm," but mine is an H and I have H pear-cut sides. My H appears icy white to my eye but sometimes I can see a very, VERY slight hint of creaminess to my pear side stones. (the average person might not have noticed it but I, as the wearer who constantly scrutinized it from 1 inch away could see it!) Fancy cuts tend to show more color so that probably explains it. It took me awhile to get used to it at first, but now I hardly notice the color difference and I wouldn't change a thing. I suppose if I had gotten G color pears, the color among all three stones might have matched perfectly (but with the higher price of G stones I would've had to settle for smaller pears).

You can check out my thread on my ring for pics if you like.

 

[reader]

Kristy, you have quite good taste in stones and rings...and thank you for sharing the link. I saw a 2ct on Whiteflash, K color, that might be do-able around my birthday next year...so perhaps purposely hunting side stones in a similar shade would be a good idea.

Thanks

 

[FacetFire]

I'd definitely look for sidestones within one color grade of the center. My 2.3 ct OEC is an I/J color (depending on whether you believe the cert or the appraisal) and it had small pave in H-J. I can tell the difference, but just slightly. Due to the size difference between my center stone and the small pave stones, there was really no way to get a perfect match, since color shows more in larger stones than in smaller ones. The difference is most noticable from the side since the pave stones are face-up, yet I'm viewing the OEC through the girdle...

Oh, and if you want to see pics, here's my thread: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/our-new-old-2-3-carat-oec-e-ring.49501/

 

[reader]

That stone. Looks. Amazing. Jaw-drop.

Thank you very much for the pics, my finger size is a six, and it is nice to see a stone somewhat close to the one I would like to have.

Thank you also for the advice on finding sides within a color grade...given that the stone I am considering is a K, that means I might be able to find sides at a good price.

 

[FacetFire]

I think a warmer diamond is a great way to save money and you can''t really tell that it''s warmer unless you put it next to whiter stones. Therefore, I''d avoid too white of side-stones (you could probably get away with J''s depending on the cut of the side stones) and putting it next to friends'' whiter stones for comparision. (My closest friends have an F and G center stones respectively, so I don''t put them right next to mine ever... LOL

 

[AdaBeta27]

I have an M VVS1 1.25 ct RB. It's definitely mid-range M and it shows tint, like candlelight white, but is rather creamy yellow without any brown. It can look white-ish, but not against a lot of white metal or whiter diamonds.

It is a very pretty stone but has vexed me through 2 resettings and is currently locked in the s/d box. It could go into a platinum or WG vintage pave setting but will definitely have that antique "cape diamond" yellowish tint against white metal and G/H or whiter stones. L/M/N/O center diamonds were often set in white metals with white pave, but you see yellow center and white pave. It's a look that really hasn't made a comeback, so far. If you can go to a jeweler who carries a lot of vintage diamond rings, I'm sure you'll see at least one cape & white example there.

I have a channel set band with 8 J-colored diamonds, and pairing those two colors looks good. (Not too much contrast between the 2 colors.)

A 18k YG or 2-tone pave halo vintage style setting is something I'm considering but such settings are just starting to hit the market and I will have to hold the M stone up to one to see. I'm also considering having an 8-diamond halo contemporary setting made for this M diamond, using the 8 diamonds from the channel set band. I've kind of already been there & done that with the antique pave and halo.

Here's a pic of the M diamond set in YG. The head is Stuller Octet WG.

 

[reader]

You state that the stone has vexed you...how so?

 

[monarch64]

Ada, your rings are stunning...of course, I am an emerald-lover! Really, they are just gorgeous, and I bet the picture does them not enough justice! Lovely!!!

 

[SuzyQZ]

My 3 stone radiant ring has an EGL-USA certed 1.51 "H" center and two 1 carat "J" sides. My wedding ring is a 1.47 GIA certed "I". My husband and I picked out the three stone radiants by sight and found out afterward that the sides and center were actually two colors off on the certs, we couldn't see any difference between my H and J's compared to my GIA certed "I" which is what I compare them to and all three stones appear the same to me, in all lighting conditions. So I guess even among two color grade differences, you can find a match, it's not easy, but possible. We were lucky because we didn't pay very much for the J's and EGL-USA certed diamonds saved us a lot of money. Also, I don't know how color sensitive I am, I think I see what most people see which is no difference. Someone who is extremely color sensitive could maybe tell the difference, I don't know. They certainly are not mismatched in my eye, or for that matter to most people who see my rings. I basically consider them as three "I"s.

 

[reader]

Tried emailing Whiteflash about an EGL certified diamond on their site, and their representative warned me that EGL is off by a few grades...and sent me links to GIA ones instead.

Still, I wish they would send me a pic of the diamond and let me decide for myself...besides, I have a nice, really white diamond, something softer and more antique looking would be good too.

 

[FacetFire]

I don't think it's accurate to say that an EGL is off by a few color grades. Mine is an EGL USA cert color I and it was appraised as an I/J...so a half color grade off (and that is one of the strictest graders we have locally). I agree that you should see it and decide for yourself.

 

[CoutureFemme]

Hi reader, I don''t know how much this will help, but here goes! I have an L 1.5 pear. I have it mounted in platinum with 12 J 2-pointers and they look great! Indoor lighting makes me notice the ginger-ale color of the stone. Outside in the sunlight however, perhaps because of the medium fluorescence, the stone is BLINDINGLY white. It''s actually really amazing

! I haven''t got pictures of the ring since I had a custom ring built around it, but I do have pictures of my pear somewhere around here.

In any case, a 2 carat K sounds like it would be divine! What a great future birthday gift to yourself!

 

[reader]

Found out the pear had a huge bowtie, so the hunt is on...

 

[Logan Sapphire]

I wouldn't say my stones are particularly warm, but I have an E center stone and H sides, and I can hardly see a difference now that they're mounted. In the picture I've attached, you can see a slight difference, but it's also shown with a white background. In real life, I can't tell unless I put my very near-sighted eye right up to the pavilions and stare at it hard. I can't see anything at all face-up.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Here it is in sunlight.

 

[reader]

I can''t really see a difference either. What a good picture to inspire confidence! Thank you

 

[AdaBeta27]

Date: 8/27/2006 11:04:25 PM
Author: reader
You state that the stone has vexed you...how so?

I think it's the yellow tint and big 58.9% table. The color did not bother me when the stone was in a high 6-prong generic Tiffany. I next tried it in the YG and emerald combo shown. In office lighting it was great, but in any dim lighting the yellow of the M color just kind of blended with the YG, plus the emeralds really played up the M yellow. It was kind of like setting fancy yellow in 18k yellow. There was sparkle in there but where did it come from, LOL. Favorite quote from people who looked at this ring: "Is there a diamond in there??" Hahahahaha! With a 7mm diameter with HCA score 1.3 VG/Ex/Ex/VG, and NAJA cut grade of 2A, how could it hide, LOL.


Next, I tried a low, petite WG fishtail head with YG band, for a plain-tailored vintage look. I'd been advised that since it faced up fairly white, low mounting it would hide the tint I would see from the side. Well, the low boxy head caused face-up even more yellow, IMO. Plus, that jeweler soldered the head to the band crooked and I hate it. So M VVS1 is back in the s/d box again, still in the crooked fishtail. (Note to self: Write on the whiteboard 100 times "I will NOT low mount this diamond ever again. Find new jeweler.")

edit: I concur with the experts who say that color does affect light return. This diamond does have excellent light return and fire toward the outside edges with that size of table, but overall the tint makes it darker than a "white" diamond. A yellow light bulb casts a different light than a 100W white frosted one.

 

[reader]

Where did you find the stone, and also, have you tried paring it with a colored sapphire? Blue or perhaps red or purple? That one would be a challenge that would be fun to play with...

I wonder how it would look in a rose gold setting?

 

[AdaBeta27]

It was bought at a local pawn shop.

I think blue sapphires a la art deco would look great and there's certainly historical precedent for L/M/N centers set in white metals w/ sapphires. Have never found a sapphire mounting that's above average yet low priced. I want this one, attached. Droolworthy.

Tried it with rubies on either side. Works w/ high Tiffany but the eye starts seeing orange when rubies are on either side of the fishtail head.

Rose gold is something I'd like to see. I predict that is either going to be fantastic or it will make everyone want to gag. One or the other, no in between, LOL.

Date: 8/29/2006 10:39:50 PM
Author: reader
Where did you find the stone, and also, have you tried paring it with a colored sapphire? Blue or perhaps red or purple? That one would be a challenge that would be fun to play with...

I wonder how it would look in a rose gold setting?

 

[AdaBeta27]

Sapphires, Take 2

 

[reader]

Oh, very nice. We nearly got my engagement ring at a pawnshop too, there was a rather nice half carat in a white gold setting with 2 small sapphires on either side. The next day when we went back, it was gone.

The componets of my ring, however, did come from a pawnshop and 2 rings of my grandmother that were too broken to repair.

 

[AdaBeta27]

That setting is droolworthy but almost $3000! I might have to wait until pave goes out of style and gets dumped at the pawn shops, lol.

Here is a ring someone has for sale. ebay 200022932228. I borrowed one of their pictures. They say M center and I/J sides. My M is maybe just a little paler.

An M or N center in white metal with whiter diamonds is one I've seen a lot in vintage rings, usually OEC or OMC center diamond. I suspect it's because there was incentive to remove and recut the colorless and near colorless diamonds but almost no interest in tinted ones until recently. I hated this yellow / white contrast when I first saw it but I've gotten to like it and may reset my M in white someday.

 

[reader]

I found a nice little L, now to get Whiteflash to send me a pic of it....crosses fingers...